Note: This text is about 6 years old. Stay tuned for an update.
Welcome to my web site. I don’t know why I’ve always wanted to own MatthewDeGeorge.com. It’s pretentious, it’s silly unless I’m more than a little bit famous, and it’s wrong, but it feels so right.
I work in the IT Outsourcing industry. This isn’t just because I believe if you can’t beat ’em, join them. I actually think information technology and outsourcing‘deliver value’. I think technology is under-used, mismanaged, and belittled by too many executives. I enjoy proving them wrong and trying to surprise them with elegant solutions and occasionally even actual tangible benefits.
From the IT Outsourcing industry I’ve been lucky enough to work with banks, one of the world’s best airlines, a leading fast-moving consumer goods company, the Hong Kong government, and a multi-national media company, just to name a few. I love this variety and consider myself lucky to work in the industry I do. If I didn’t have this variety I suspect I wouldn’t necessarily be a model employee. Oh, in another life the trouble I’d be in…
Since at least as far back as 1999 I have been developing a management model provocatively called the ManageWithoutThem Model (MWT). I’m not anti-management – in fact I often play that role. Though I do think there are some important lessons that the management profession can learn from economics, history, and ah, me, I guess. My book on the subject is slowly creeping into existence.
I’m married and live in a lovely beach side town south of Sydney, Australia. My wife Amanda keeps me happily distracted from all of the above. She also hasher own web site that I gave her as a nerdy but sweet present. My step-son Desh doesn’t have a web site – he’s only seven, what are you crazy?! – but if you “go to Google and type tower defence games” he will be there somewhere.
I’ve never seen The Sound of Music, but while I’m not busy with work and family, these are a few of my favourite things: Douglas Adams, Billy Joel, Richard Dawkins and the fact that he married a time lord, Christopher Alexander and his ‘The Nature of Order’ series, books in general, Loudon Wainwright III and family, Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Ludwig von Mises (equally the man, his book ‘Human Action’, and the guinea pig), Austrian Economics in general, the idea that I might someday get a pilot’s licence, wondering if I’ve actually grown out of Ayn Rand or just lost my ideals, time alone, learning new things (I now own a micro-controller, but what to do with it?), red wine on weekends, really clever and preferably musical comedy from genius types like Stephen Fry, Tim Minchin, The Might Boosh, and They Might Be Giants.
What I like even more is enjoying these things with Amanda. I even like it when she is just humouring me and thinks the beautiful history of economic thoughtbooks she bought me just look like Readers Digests. We are well suited and interested in lots of different things – often at the same time, and often at the same time together.
I’ve come to realise over the years that I’m addicted to information. Where others might want to control – I just need to know. I’m currently researching possible treatments for this (just out of interest, I don’t want to be cured).
While I don’t like to control I do like to change things – so I generally take a transformational approach to getting things done and working with others. I’d rather change the system of incentives than just complaining that people are doing the wrong things. If you ever work with me hopefully you’ll understand what I mean.
Thanks for visiting.